THE ENCHANTED APRIL

A charming Italian castle holds the key to happiness for four English women in this classic by the author of Elizabeth and Her German Garden.   It begins on a rainy London afternoon in February. Four ladies, whose only common trait is dissatisfaction with life, answer an ad placed in the advice column of The Times. Addressed ?To Those Who Appreciate Wistaria and Sunshine,? it offers the opportunity to rent a fully-furnished medieval Italian castle in Portofino along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea for the month of April?servants included. A peaceful holiday is all the ladies are expecting, but the sunny warmth of the Italian spring is about to change their lives . . .   ?The Enchanted April sounds as if it would be an appallingly cloying cream puff of a fairy tale, but that would be to ignore that the author habitually kept a pot of lemon juice mixed with vinegar beside her ink-pot. With this bracing element there is additionally what can only be called a feast of flowers, hanging from every wall and pouring scent over the company.? ?The Times Literary Supplement   ?[A] restful, funny, sumptuous, and invigorating vacation for the mind and soul.? ?500 Great Books by Women   ?[A]n expression of the propensity of people to be blind to the real secret of happiness, and . . . how exquisitely men and women get upon each other?s nerves and how they suffer from each other?s egos.? ?National Review   ?Lyrical . . . Dry, delicious humor . . . An April does not satisfy my greedy heart. I want all year.? ?Smart Bitches, Trashy Books